Girl Noticed, a nationwide mural project, is bringing art, awareness, and excitement to the Downtown Troy community with a special live mural painting by Ft. Lauderdale based artist Lori Pratico. On April 28, 2016, beginning at sun up, Pratico will transform the now blank State Street side wall, at 21 First Street in Downtown Troy, into an impactful mural exemplifying three local girls of color deserving to be noticed. The Girl Noticed Project uses large format, public wall spaces all over the country to manifest an important unified message.
“We want to show every girl that they have value. Teaching young girls to have a strong positive self-image sets them up for the best possible success in life. Being beautiful means being yourself. These murals are a vehicle for noticing fundamental qualities in ourselves and others,” says mural artist, Lori Pratico.
The Girl Noticed project has been vivaciously on the move since it’s launch in January 2015 with 11 murals complete to date in cities including Montclair, New Jersey, Ann Arbor, Michigan, Miami, St. Petersburg, Ft. Lauderdale and Key West, Florida and Albany, Indiana. “It’s been an amazing experience capturing magnificent woman in these communities and bringing the cities together to celebrate and notice them. Each woman nominated and featured on the public murals carries a unique and important story” says Elizabeth Sanjuan, the photographer documenting the project. This will be the mural projects first time in New York State.
CALL FOR ENTRY: Girl Noticed is actively seeking three special girls for the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. mural. Anyone who is interested can apply to be that person through the Nominate/Contact tab on the Girl Noticed website, www.girlnoticed.com. All nominees will be acknowledged, three girls will be chosen for the mural. All entries must be submitted by Friday, April 22, 2016. Please include three-five photos of the nominee with her application.
The mural project will be part of the YWCA-GCR’s Stand Against Racism. The YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. will be hosting a moderated panel discussion titled, “On A Mission For Girls of Color” in their gymnasium at 21 First Street, Troy, NY 12180, from 12:00 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. The panel will be moderated by Daquetta Jones, Executive Director of the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. Panelists include: Anzala B. Alozie, J.D., Vice President of Girl Scouts of Northeastern New York; Carmen Duncan, CEO and Founder of Mission Accomplished; Geraldine Gutierrez, MSW, Program Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Capital Region; LuAnn L. McCormick, PhD, MSW, Executive Director of Girls on the Run Capital Region.
Following the panel discussion, Girl Noticed, will be unveiling the creative and purposeful exterior mural. Artist, Lori Pratico and photographer, Elizabeth Sanjuan, will create an outside mural of three locally nominated girls of color, which will be done in charcoal on the exterior of our building (State Street side), with the message “NOTICE ME” on the wall. Weather conditions and time will naturally fade away the charcoal portrait. The Girl Noticed project provides a window of time to “NOTICE” the girls that will be featured in the Mural; representing the plight of girls that too often go “unnoticed” in our society!
Stand Against Racism is a signature campaign of YWCA USA to build community among those who work for racial justice and to raise awareness about the negative impact of institutional and structural racism in our communities. This campaign is one part of our larger national strategy to fulfill our mission of eliminating racism. For more details, or to look up a participating site, visit: http://www.StandAgainstRacism.org. For local information, please contact Malissa Pilette-McClenon at malissap@ywca-gcr.org or call 518.274.7100.